


Trust is not his middle name

by ashcat



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 08:10:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashcat/pseuds/ashcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver is so secretive about his past. Felicity wonders why he doesn't open up to her and Diggle more. Diggle tries to explain why Oliver doesn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust is not his middle name

**Author's Note:**

> This is your fault storiesfortravelers ...

The fortress basement of Verdant was quiet, the lights only half power. It was soothing if you didn't look at the weapons everywhere. If you ignored the huge rolling medical cabinet the Arrow required.

Diggle was cleaning his guns, quietly humming to himself as he did it. A practice that was routine and comforting. Felicity was working on the computer, running normal scans, playing some game in another window.

"I wish we knew more about Oliver's time on the island." Felicity said, breaking the quiet they'd shared for the past forty-five minutes.

"He will tell us what we need to know if we give him time." Diggle continued with his gun, oiling it.

"But never until we need it and only then under great duress."

"Oliver's a private guy."

Felicity sighed. "I guess. But we're friends now, his partners. Wouldn't he trust us enough to tell us?"

Diggle considered that before replying. "It's ... probably like stabbing himself and cutting a bit of flesh and bone away to give up that kind of information. It's going back into memories he clearly finds painful. "

"But why wouldn't it be easier with _us_?"

Diggle laid down his gun barrel gently on the cloth in front of him and turned to look at Felicity. It wasn't her fault she didn't have experience with this. She didn't know what she was asking. "It would be harder. He cares about how we see him. Our opinions matter."

"So, he thinks we'll judge him?"

"He already blames himself. Of course he'd think we would blame him too. That if we knew what he'd done to survive, it would alter our perception of him. It'd make us afraid or disgusted with him." Diggle had seen that in men and had felt a bit of that himself. He hadn't told anyone, not even his wife at the time, about some of things he'd had to do in the war. Things you did to survive and tried to live with yourself later.

"But we'd never do that. We know he did whatever he had to do to survive. That's all anyone would do." Felicity continued looking at Diggle trying to understand.

" _We_ know that. Oliver doesn't. He has judged himself far harsher than anyone else would."

"That's.. that's a lonely existence." Felicity frowned.

Diggle went over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It could be. But he has us."

Felicity put her hand over Diggle's, leaning into him. "We all have each other."


End file.
